Keep your D&D game alive! Trials and triumphs of a full-time nerd in a part-time world
There’s never been a better time to be a tabletop gamer. Recent years have brought an explosion of products and popularity for board games, card games and – my personal obsession – roleplaying games (of the pencil-and-paper variety). Whether as a rebuff of our ubiquitous online lives or simply a celebration of face-to-face social entertainment, this renaissance has made new gamers of all stripes and brought lapsed gamers back to the hobby.
New DM Handbook: Explain Your Actions
I can’t speak for experienced players, being that my only experience is with new players, but if the show Critical Role is any indication, then it likely applies to everyone. As the Dungeon Master, you have to play the role of enemy creatures and NPCs, which means thinking like them. Your decisions have to reflect the decisions they would make. That means making a lot of unpopular decisions.
“A Walk in the Woods” – Out of The Box D&D Encounters #37
Introduction: The Players Handbook is loaded with spells that could be the key to an interesting encounter. One that strikes me as having a lot of potential is Awaken (Players Handbook, page 216). According to the spell, it grants a 10 Intelligence to a single plant or beast under the right circumstances. It also allows plants the ability to move. Speech in one language is also included. From what I can see, this effect is permanent. Now, imagine applying that entire array of abilities to any number of beasts or plants. Not only can this spell effect expected beasts like horses, dogs, elephants and fish, as well as plants like trees and shrubbery, but also to fungi and “giant” beasts. The only limit is a starting Intelligence of 3 or less and size of Huge or less, and the category of “beast” or “plant.”
Conscious RPG campaigning: Tyrant or Savior?
What do you fight for in your campaign? What cause is it that you strive for? Is it the meager treasures of the land or the pillaging and plundering of a city in order to fulfill selfish desires? Do you fight for a cause that is greater than your own? Do you fight to protect an entire race of people by destroying an evil tyrant who seeks to destroy an entire race of people all for his own selfish gains and ambitions? Or do you join forces to aid his fear mongering whims only to leave nothing for the creatures that follow in your footsteps? As we delve into these worlds and places in our campaigns, what is it that we are truly seeking to achieve? Why do we adventure? Why do we desire more than what we are, what we have or what we see? The act of a hero is that of selflessness and bravery in order to achieve the good of all. The acts of a tyrant are always the opposite. Do we seek to build or do we seek to destroy?
Minor magical items for your 5e D&D game
It seems magic items are one of those things of which players can never get enough when it comes to Dungeons & Dragons, especially in Fifth Edition where these items are not quite as easy to come by as they were in earlier versions of the game, specifically compared to Third Edition where characters could create their own magical gear.
Still, not every magic item has to be super powerful, nor does every item have to be made for combat. Below are a handful of relatively minor magical items I have created for a homebrew campaign I share with other Dungeon Masters in the Unnamed Adventurers Guild (more members are always welcome, so feel free to check out our Facebook page). Any in-world references are to this campaign, the world of Illumina and its environs. The first five items have been introduced into the game, but others have not. As a side note, there are no prices provided for these items as each is somewhat rare, sometimes unique, and will bring whatever the market will bear.
New DM Handbook: Let Your Players Inspire Your World
This article is going to largely stem from my experiences when adjusting to my Platinum Dragonborn Oath of the Ancients Paladin Gladiator, but that’s largely because she was the only one of the group who I felt required significant adjustments to my world. This isn’t to say she dictated that my world needed to accommodate her. She made her character choices, and I chose ways I felt were best to accommodate her character. I didn’t do it just to accommodate her, but because Dungeons & Dragons is a collaborative story, and it’s made all the better the more everyone is willing to work together. In my opinion, my world has been made all the better for it, and I can’t imagine too many that wouldn’t benefit from some accommodation, either.
One Journey: Escape of the Prisoner, or Flight of the Deserter?
es·cap·ism
əˈskāpˌizəm/
noun; the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy.
New DM Handbook: The Tutorial Quest
For a while now, I’ve been talking mostly theoretical, while including some real-world personal experiences to support my claims. While that won’t completely go away, especially since I have a lot more philosophy I want to go through, I wanted to start talking from a place of experience.
The Tutorial Quest or:
“Heart of Darkness” – Out of the Box D&D Encounters #36
Introduction: There are many different kinds of players, but one that never goes away is the murder hobo/vandal. Their style of gaming lay in the foundations of D&D when it first hit the market. It’s still a popular style of gaming, especially with the rise of video games. Monsters and puzzles are seen as sources of loot. Everything is opened, broken, killed, or avoided if it can’t be one those three. Despite the harsh style of play, these players are also the fire under the bottoms of players who struggle with decision making or need to follow sixteen steps before opening a door. The murder hobo/vandal is always the first to launch into combat, explore a new passage, or open a stuck door. As much as they lead the way, the style of play can sometimes cut off role playing or problem solving opportunities, or create problem solving issues for others in their party.
The Wheel Of The Year With Dungeons and Dragons
The year’s seasons with D&D
The year’s seasons with D&DWe as people have such a unique connection through our similarities and natural patterns. One of those many ways we connect is with traditions and holidays! Other ways are through leisure, tribal get togethers, games and entertainment. Why not transform these connections into a tradition all of their own?
Let’s take ourselves to a lovely room with a fireplace, coffee on the pot, decanter of wine set, the smell of food, laughter of friends nearby, and the jolly sound of tavern music playing in the background specifically this one (it’s literally how I start my morning most days).
RPGs: Why Women Need To Play
Okay, so here is where I am going to break off a little and dive into a more gender-exclusive topic. Let me start with a bit about myself, to sorta get things rolling. Let me also state that this is entirely my opinions, and bias,...
Ty’s Gaming Resolutions for the 2017 New Year
[caption id="attachment_8732" align="aligncenter" width="930"] The tools of the trade for gaming in 2017.[/caption] Despite all the political outrage, the celebrity deaths, and all the other hoopla that seems to have labeled 2016 as a year of horror, I have to admit I had a pretty good...
New DM Handbook: Your Story Doesn’t Matter
This is going to be by far my most controversial post, which I believe says a lot. Based on my observations, it would seem that the mentality among Game Masters is they have a story to tell, and the players are there to play in...
“The Girl With The Dragon SNAFU” – Out of The Box #35 D&D Encounters
Introduction: To finish out the run of “Out of the Box” for 2016, I thought it would be appropriate to use the one creature that is likely the most difficult to run. A dragon. The problem with dragons is they are immensely powerful and capable of destroying a party outright within a few rounds if played to their potential. It then falls to the Dungeon Master to try and create an encounter that is both reasonable to the players and yet fair to the beast in question. You want the moment to be memorable, and the only way to do that is to do the creature justice.
New DM Handbook: Old New Players
Last week I DMed my first game. I originally didn’t have any intention of addressing it right away, and I won’t get right back to it. I still have a number of things I wanted to talk about how I see things before getting to it, but this is something that new DMs should be aware of.
This article is written based just on one session, with two players being completely new, and two having played a long time ago. It’s not a very effective sample size, but what I observed is worth consideration for other new DMs.
The Old New Player
What do I mean when I say Old New Player? They’re someone who played a long time ago but fell out of the hobby, and are now coming back after many years (if not decades). Why they left doesn’t matter. Maybe they stopped playing because they felt they grew out of it, they didn’t have time for it anymore, or maybe they stopped playing due to peer pressure. It doesn’t matter. You’re
putting together a game, and they’re excited to get back into something they really enjoyed a very long time ago.
